<REFERENCE>PRIME>DRB>MANUALNUMBERS

Sections of This Page

• To-do list
• Things to find
• Notes about Prime publications
• List of part number prefixes
• List of part number suffixes
• 50 Series and PC products
• Un-numbered
• Numbered but number not known
• Numbered but missing proper titles
• EXL products
• Sources

To-do list

do docs from Jim
do Cosper CD docs
do garage
look into documents.help from various versions
        Done:
                19.1
                21.0
                22.1
                23.2
                23.3
                4c8d5533 (24, but oddly updated help)
                pps 03 (19.3)
                pps 14/15 (22.1)
do guides to prime user documents

Things to find

Pull list of SPC numbers in available docs
OpenLibrary lists (without part numbers):
        Software catalogue, Prime Computer UK, 1982
        CORAL 66 input/output package, Prime Computer, 1970 [sic]
        Sequential PASCAL user guide, Prime Computer UK, 1977
        CORAL 66 user guide, Prime Computer, 1977
        ALGOL 60 user guide, Prime Computer UK, 1977
        Office Automation Companion series
                Word Processing

Notes about Prime publications

Numbering schemes came and went. The earliest manuals had no numbers at all. In many cases, the base numbers survived the changes and were retained for later editions of the same manuals under new schemes. It appears that the main documentation group, field engineering, software engineering, hardware engineering and sales may have each had their own ideas at various times. (Note, these are not the formal names of these groups, and I know relatively little about Prime's org chart at any given point in time.) Before about Rev. 18, Prime did not always add an edition suffix to manual part numbers, but simply issued updated versions with the same number.

It appears that a suffix letter indicating binding was omitted if a given book was only issued in one binding. Some references omitted the binding suffix letter regardless of availability, presumably assuming the user would know to ask for the version they preferred. Where such suffixes were listed, they have been included here, but given the above, this is not an authoritative list of which books were issued in which forms.

By 1992, after several mergers and buyouts, the numbering scheme became quite chaotic.

Some data here came from OpenLibrary. Clearly, some records submitted to it were created by catalogers who did not fully understand Prime documentation conventions. Unfortunately, no mark was affixed to entries in this list based on OL records. Many records were clearly created from books which were updated prior to cataloging; the cataloger used the original edition suffix from the cover, while listing the updated software version. A few included edition suffices for manuals covering versions old enough that such suffices were not generally in use by Prime, at least on the printed artifacts, and may have been fabricated by the cataloger. Some OL records included no part number and were not included here.

Where it was possible to determine a software version number to a given book (e.g. it was stated explicitly, or the book was listed as new in a given software release document), the number was entered at the end of the line. The sources do conflict in places, the help files for a given PRIMOS release often state they describe a recently preceding release, manual release cycles were often slightly behind software releases, etc.

IDR documents were described as accurate but incomplete, designed to provide such information as was available. PDR documents were considered mostly complete, but not yet fully edited and formatted. FDR documents were complete, formatted and produced to Prime's highest standards. PTU updates were sometimes issued as memos documenting new features, rather than as updates to an existing book. Other numbering conventions, older and newer, did not adhere to this system.

List of part number prefixes

APP         ? (CSR)
BR          (Brochure?)
CA          Telemarketing catalog
COR         Change Sheets for FDR books
CE          Customer Education workbook
CSB         Customer Service Bulletin
DCP         ? (Doc package?  Seems to refer to related manuals in binder)
DM          ? (sample is DM1025 educational horizons brochure on EXL316)
DOC         Documentation
FDR         Final Documentation Release
FL          (Flyer?)
IDC         Foreign language book
IDR         Initial Documentation Release; later, non-book publication
IDU         Update to an IDC book
IMI         Foreign language non-book publication
IRN         Foreign language release notes
IVE         Foreign language book
LBD         Schematic (usually included in an LDS)
LDS         Logic diagram (usually includes schematics,
            programming information, BOMs, etc)
LST         Program listing
MAN         Early reference documents to be phased out by PDRs and FDRs
MIC         Microcode listing
MRU         Software Release Document
NS          Product Bulletin
OSDOC       Software functional specification
PCG         Pocket Guide (CSR?)
PDR         Preliminary Documentation Release
PB          Product Bulletin (sales glossy)
PE-T-       Prime Engineering technical report
PE-TI-      Prime Engineering technical report (Internal use only)
    PE-TN-          Prime Engineering technical note?
PTU         Prime Technical Update
PWS         ? (Prime Workstation - Producer/PERFORMER items)
RLN         Release Note
SMN         Technical documentation (CSR)
SOU         Sales documents?
SDP         Software Documentation Package
SG          Student Guide
SPC         Specification
SPM         Service Procedures Manual
SSG         Software Service Guide (CSR?)
SSP         (Service Supplement?) (CSR)
TEAMAN      Customer Service tech documentation (may be labeled MANxxx)
TTM         Technical Manual (CSR?)
UISC        (Some sort of engineering software specification?)
UPD         Updates, base number matches base number of updated DOC
UPG         Hardware upgrade instructions (CSR)
UPM         Updates to MAN books
WRL         Wire list

List of part number suffixes

-101A
-101B
        101             Edition
        A               Perfect-bound
        B               Loose-leaf
-193L
-163P
        193             Revision covered (e.g. 19.3 or 16.3)
        P               Perfect-bound
        L               Loose-leaf
-3LA
-2LB
-2LC
        3               Edition (e.g. third)
        L               Loose-leaf
        P               Perfect-bound
        X               Other bindings
        A
        B
        C
-11A
        11              Update from edition, and update number
        A
-A
-B
        A               SMN updated release identifier
-A1
-B1
        A               SMN base release
        1               Update number to SMN base release
-P                      SMN Preliminary release
-V1                     SMN Volume number
-01
        01              SMN updated release identifier

50 Series and PC products

Un-numbered

Autopsy Student Reference Manual
DOS Meets Unix (Prime 10/86, O'Reilly 4/88, a number?)
Deremer for Rev. 19.0
General Purpose Interface Users Guide (1976)
Inter-System Call Exchange Subroutines Guide Rev 7.2
Inter-System Call Exchange Subroutines Guide Rev 8.5.3
P400 U-Code Handbook
Prime 200 System Reference Manual
Prime Computer Instruction Summary (pocket guide, for P100, 200, 300)
Reference Notes on the AMLC
Rev 19 I/O Information
Rev 23.4 Software Release Document
Rev 24.0 Software Release Document
SLEEP$I FS
SPL for Rev. 19.0
Workbook for PRIMOS Internals (19.1)

Numbered but number not known

2350 System
[intrinsic accuracy]
[modula implementation]
[network performance evaluation]
POWER
Search Rules FS
SNA Planning Guide

Numbered but missing proper titles

IDR3058                 [basic/vm]
IDR3107                 [hasp]
PDR3085                 [cbasic]
MAN1812                 [system architecture instructions]
PE-T-418                [DEREMER, superseded by PE-T-535]
PE-T-1122
PE-TI-643
PE-TI-776
PE-TI-793
PE-TI-860
PE-TI-879
PE-TI-888
PE-TI-891
PE-TI-900
PE-TI-903
PE-TI-915
PE-TI-944
PE-TI-962
PE-TI-988
PE-TI-990
PE-TI-995
PE-TI-1004
PE-TI-1005
PE-TI-1006
PE-TI-1008
PE-TI-1166
PTU31                   Supplement or update to MAN2602
PTU43                   Supplement or update to MAN2602
PTU52                   Update to [pdr3106 file system]
PTU55                   Update to [idr???? database management]
UISC-S-2                Related to gvariables
UISC-S-7                Related to wildcard expansion

EXL products

DOC20015-1LA    RISC/os Programmer's Reference
MAN13099-1PA    INFORMATION HYPER SESSION Administrator's Guide:
                                PRIME EXL 7000 Series Systems (1.1)

Sources

• Bitsavers
• Personal collection
• OpenLibrary
• comp.sys.prime posts
• NCSC PRIMOS C2 report
• PRIMOS HELP DOCUMENTS file
• Jim Wilcoxson
• NASA Contractor Report 177950
• 1000bit.it brochures collection
• ebay listings
• private communications
• LDS documents
• GIT-ICS-83/09
• Dave Tuttle's web site
• PRIMOS source